Animal owners are being urged to ensure that they have the correct documentation with them when travelling abroad with their pets.

The warning from pet insurance firm Halifax follows the recent incident involving football club Chelsea's manager Jose Mourinho in which his pet dog was taken out of the country without the correct papers.

Vicky Watson, from Halifax Pet Insurance, told Personal Finance and Savings: "All owners who are considering taking their pets abroad should act now because the pet passport process will take six months to complete."

A number of steps must be followed to make sure that a pet dog is ready for travel, including having the animal micro-chipped, vaccinated against rabies, wormed and the vaccine being certified as effective.

Following these steps, the pet owner must then wait for six months before being able to take their pet out of the country.

It may also be a wise move to invest in pet insurance, which may cover vet treatment or costs for any unexpected events.

Earlier this year, the pet insurance provider stated that Britons taking their animals on holiday should consider getting travel insurance for their pets.